Monday, November 30, 2009

Are you sub-consciously taking your kids for granted? I hate to admit this but I think I am, especially towards DD1. Maybe because she's the eldest in the family, I expect her to be more sensible and independant. Since she started Primary 1 in January this year, I don't remember spending 30 mins of my time with her doing any school work. She was very much left on her own to finish up whatever school work she has, and packed her own bag and stationeries while I took care of the 2 younger ones.

I've been feeling very uptighted with schedules especially when DH is away much longer in this trip. Time factor is very important to me and I realised that whenever I'm home alone with the kids, I yelled and screamed alot as their dawdling really got onto my nerves. I need to be on time and do things fast, but the kids are always daydreaming and immersing in their own world and that usually drove me up the wall. But after reading nienie's blog, I was then brought to my senses, back to reality. I'm so sorry darlings, I'll make an effort to not scream and yell so much, and to spend more quality time with you instead of rushing through my chores and meals preparation, I promise.

Mom's birthday celebration last Friday was great! The siblings had loads of time catching up with each other while the kids were busy playing with the remote control car CL bought for DS2. I forgot to take pics of the other food contributed by my siblings as we were all too hungry then :P

I was trying to finish up my expiring matcha so I made a matcha chiffon cake. I was pleased to see what I've unmoulded, no cracks and tears :)

Layered the cake into 3 portions and sandwiched with red bean paste and whipped cream. I do not know how this will turn out but it's so common to pair off red bean with matcha and since I've got some frozen red bean paste, why not utilise them and clear some space? ;-) Good idea? Great idea? Best idea! (that's what my son will say! hahaha!)

Shaved some white chocolates and using my heart shaped cookie cutter, I sprinkled them carefully within the cutter. But when I removed the cutter, some bits of chocolate fell off and created a slight mess.

Tadar! The final cake with my simple decoration. Nothing fanciful but good enough for home consumption :P

The good thing about home-baked layered cake is we can reduce sweetness and use minimal frosting :-)

Friday, November 27, 2009

It is NOT okay to use pictures of others and "copy and paste" into your website or blog and claim that it is yours.

Leonice of Dreamy Cupcakes extracted a picture from Ovenhaven and posted it in their website. So if you are thinking of ordering from them, be warned that what you see may not be what you'll be getting. Read more here.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Are you socially responsible? I confess I wasn't but I'm trying to be one now. I've been more conscious about social responsibility ever since our first born. We started off with wearing masks at home when we fell sick. As time passed, we wore masks in public places too, so that we don't spread the germs to the world. I'm not saying I'm a saint but at least I'm doing my part to prevent the transmission of germs from one person to another. I believe if each and every one of us makes an effort, we can make a difference.

Enough said, back to baking now. I've got this cheese cookies since 2007 but always procrastinating and finally made it a few days ago.

I started off with my disney cutters but had a hard time removing the dough. After struggling with 3/4 portion of the dough, I got lazy and just rolled them into a big rectangle and cut them into sticks.

Here are the cookies using my disney cutters. The first time I used these, the ears of Mickey kept breaking and I've since stopped using this until I made my mooncakes but I restricted it to Chip and Dale as they were the easiest to unmould :P My earlier attempt of mooncakes didn't turn out too well too. Anyway, though I've successfully unmoulded the dough, this recipe is not suitable to use cute cutters as the cookies turned out "patchy". Oh well, my kids don't really mind the poker-dotted disney characters :P

Beat butter and egg in a mixer till creamy, then add in the two type of flour that has been sifted first, mix well.

Add in the cheese and continue mixing till all are evenly mixed.

Roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter of any shape, or simply cut the rolled out dough into strips. Varnish with beaten yolk and sprinkle some grated cheese on top (optional) and bake in preheated oven of 175C for about 15-20 minutes .

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I used to adapt Sister E "recipe" for apple "soup", basically it's just green apples, chinese almonds and candied dates. But I googled and found out that dried figs are good for cough too so I decided to cook it the savoury way ie to add in some meat.

It is essential for me to cook a big portion and freeze, economies of scale and minimise cooking. But of course, you can always half this recipe easily.

Of late, it seems that I've been cooking/baking more that I could blog. I always wonder, how do other bloggers keep up with their blog or are they facing the same problem as me?

For my next few entries, it will be on some TCM cough remedies which I've prepared for my children last week.

Despite being on antibiotics, the 2 younger ones were still coughing away and they're moving into week 4 now. We have seen the doctor twice and I was resistant to bring them for another visit. IC has many soup recipes so I asked if she had one for cough. The next day, she emailed me a few recipes and I shortlisted the easiest one to try out.

When I went to one of our local chinese medical store, I was advised not to give fritillaria to a young toddler. Instead, he recommended another product which I kindly decline. I visited a 2nd store and was given the green light to go ahead. With 2 different messages, I was in a dilemma if I should go ahead with this recipe. Nevertheless, I bought the fritillaria (better quality ones) thinking I could still give my 2 elder children.

This recipe originally calls for 1 large pear but I cooked 3 small ones instead. With the uncertainty of fritillaria's usage for my 20 months old toddler, I used 1 recipe for 3 pears instead. Of course, the effectiveness will be compromised but I just couldn't think of a reason not to make this.

No water needed for this recipe and despite reducing sugar, it was way too sweet. I cut a small chuck for DD3 and she grimaced at first bite. Sigh... With the pathetic "soup" base, I added some warm water to dilute the sweetness and offered her a drink. Again, she spitted it out and wouldn't go for a 2nd sip. Instead, the 2 older ones enjoyed themselves and kept asking for more.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Sister E wanted to finish up her expiring matcha and gave me an idea to add matcha into steamed sponge cake. I made this yesterday since Sister E came by in the afternoon to help me out for a few hours as DH was still in Philippines.

The batter was rather thick after adding the flour. I should have reduced the flour accordingly since I've added in 5 teaspoon of matcha. Instead of sprinkling sugar to make the cross, I used a chopstick dipped into oil and "cut" the batter prior to baking. It didn't work hahaha!

Everytime I make this, I replaced hong kong flour with cake flour. But I got slightly adventurous and decided to use plain flour instead. I sifted the flour 3 times before mixing into the beaten eggs, hoping that it will turn out soft and fluffy.

The cake was soft but not exactly fluffy (then again, I've bought some from stalls with such texture too). I suspect it was due to the addition of matcha or probably my weighing scale has gone bonkers (I'm using a cheap kitchen scale) and I've added more flour then needed. For my family, they ain't fussy eaters so they don't mind this texture ;-)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Scenario 1
Date: Sunday, 8 Nov 2009
Venue: Victoria Theatre
DD1's ballet teacher organised a ballet concert for her students. I wasn't looking forward to it as I was literally home alone then and there were just too much chores to be done. Also, it was my first time to bun up her hair but I haven't got the time to scout around for the hair net and bobby pins. OMG! It was a mad rush. I finally bought the hair net on Friday night and did a trial hair do on Sat. It wasn't that difficult after all.

The hair net and the U bobby pins.

Her hair wasn't too long, barely touching her shoulders and the ends and sides kept falling. I didn't bother to gel her hair since it was just a trial and had no wish to spend too much time washing her hair. Relatively easy as I took less than 10 mins to complete the bun and used only 3 U bobby pins :)

All ready for the concert.

This was taken after her concert and her bun was intact after 12 long hours ^-^

The concert was great and I'm truly very proud of her. I didn't expect her earnest attitude towards ballet as I do understand my girl is always going around disturbing her friends during lessons or dreaming in her own world and the teacher feedback she needs to be very strict with DD1. Also, during the ballet open house, we only get to watch some exercises and not a full dance performance. But when she performed on stage that day, she was full of seriousness in expression and attitude. As far as I'm concern, she did a great job and it was a memorable night for us.

Scenario 2
Date: Wednesday, 11 Nov 2009
Venue: Home
DS2: Mummy, you are a good cooker.
Me: Huh? What is a good "cooker"?
DS2: You cook nice food for us, chicken rice, char siew, nice fish and yummy soup.
DS2: You are also a good homebaker.
Me: Why do you say that?
DS2: Because you bake nice bread, cakes, cookies, brownies and muffins for us.

I smiled and gave him a big kiss and hug. He is such a sweetie :) Now, who says I'm wasting my time in the kitchen and neglecting my young children?
Enough of my raving and now back to baking. Some time back, I saw this Cinnamon Sugar Bread in Irene's blog and it went into my To-Do list. I'm not exactly a fan of cinnamon but since the review was a good soft loaf, I decided to give it a try but reduced the ground cinnamon accordingly.

The dough was very sticky and I had to add in another 2 tablespoons of flour. I shaped them into 5 equal portions and baked in my loaf pan and baking tray.

Verdict: A very soft and light loaf :-)

The girls in the family enjoyed this loaf but unfortunately, my son doesn't like the taste of cinnamon and grimaced at his first bite. I thought the next time I bake this, I might just omit cinnamon altogether.

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Let the machine knead for 15mins, stop the cycle and re-start the machine and let the dough knead for another cycle.

Let it proof in machine for 1 hour or till double in size.

When proofing is completed, punch down the bread dough to release the air.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Noodles! I can't read Japanese but from the pictures, it can be eaten either hot or cold. For serving it cold, maybe something like soba? Pardon the little hand as my youngest was trying to "help".

I was trying to "replicate" a dish I saw on TV some time back. It was crispy pork shoulder collar deep-fried with garlic. I fried them in 2 batches, the first batch was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. While I was frying the 2nd batch, I was washing up the dishes and didn't quite watched over the fire. The 2nd lot was darker in colour and extremely crispy. I prefer the 1st lot but kids and DH like the 2nd batch with extra crisp.

As I've not tried the one featured on TV, there was no benchmarking. Also, if you have been following my blog, you know I don't take good pictures and couldn't be bothered with presentation but since DH and the kids like this, I suppose it is a good enough dish for me to share here :P

Saturday, November 7, 2009

The baking bug was here to bite! I've been baking bread after bread despite doubling the recipe, and there was none left for freezing. For every bake, there were 2 loaves. 1 loaf was eaten up fresh from the oven by my 3 gluttons (and myself :P) and the other loaf for our breakfast the next morning.

Some time back, I've made this Sweet Potato Bread. At that point in time, I've got 2 recipes on hand but I decided to adapt Honey Bee Sweets' recipe first. Today, I decided to try out the other recipe from hidehide's blog. Again, it's a purple sweet potato recipe but I changed it using orange-coloured sweet potato instead.

Both recipes yielded soft loaves. Sister E tried a sweet potato bread recipe from her breadmachine's recipe book and gave good reviews too. I guess we can't go wrong with sweet potatoes ;-)

Made 3 small porcupines with this recipe, it was cute to look at but when shaped into small buns, the bread somehow lost it's texture, it became dry but my children love it to bits for it was just too cute for them (at least for the 2 elder ones).

While I was updating this blog, I just realised that both recipes are very similiar except that for this recipe, it uses less butter and sweet potato. For texture wise, both tasted great and stayed soft on 2nd day.

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Let the machine knead for 15mins, stop the cycle and re-start the machine and let the dough knead for another cycle.

Let it proof in machine for 45 - 60 mins or till double in size.

When proofing is completed, punch down the bread dough to release the air.

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Let the machine knead for 15mins, stop the cycle and re-start the machine and let the dough knead for another cycle.

Let it proof in machine for 30 - 45 mins or till double in size.

When proofing is completed, punch down the bread dough to release the air.

Divide dough into 2 portions (optional). Shape as required and let it proof on lined or greased baking tray for another 45-60 mins or until dough is double in size.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

I made 2 loaves, one with red bean paste, one plain loaf and 4 mini buns for the little hands.

Today, I added an extra teaspoon of matcha and the colour was a nice vibrant green and we could taste the matcha in this bread :)

Argh!! I forgot to take a picture of the loaf before slicing as I was in a hurry to pick up my cranky 20 months old. I'm happy with what I see inside :) Unfortunately, the kids and DH don't like the red bean paste and preferred the plain loaf.

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Let the machine knead for 15mins, stop the cycle and re-start the machine and let the dough knead for another cycle.

Let it proof in machine for 30 - 45 mins or till double in size.

When proofing is completed, punch down the bread dough to release the air.

With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a big rectangle. The width of the dough should be slightly bigger than the length of your loaf tin/pan. Roll out the dough as long as you can manage. Spread the dough with a layer of red bean paste(or any filling of your choice). Roll up tightly (make as many rolls/turns as you can) swiss-roll style. Pinch the dough to seal the seam tightly.

Place dough (seam side down) in lightly greased bread tin/pan. Cover with cling wrap and let the dough proof for the second time for about 45~60 mins.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

We've had enough of porridge and soupy food for the past 1 week so I decided to pamper the kids with pizza today. I've not baked pizza for the longest time, if I need to put a figure to it, I think it was like 3 years ago when I made pizza using my AMC roasting pan. I didn't like to use my oven then as I was using a 3-in-1 microwave oven and it was so tiny I could only bake 1 tray at a time. It was relatively easy to "bake" with the AMC pan but I can't get a crisp crust and the cheese layer doesn't brown.

I like to involve my children in the kitchen if the task ain't too difficult. Today, the two younger ones helped to remove the stalks of the fresh button mushrooms (we don't have the habit of eating the stalks). It was a mess especially when my 20 months girl was literally ripping the mushrooms apart and I heard lots of scolding from my DS2 hahahaha!

I sauteed the mushrooms with some butter and used them as toppings with long yoke/bak kwa and tomatoes. This is one randomly mix and match combination with no proper theme but what the heck, who says there must be a theme to homemade pizza? :P

We love our pizza with loads of cheese so I had them flooded with mozzarella cheese (that's about 125g cheese on each pizza pan).

The 2 older kids helped to spread the tomato paste and laid the ingredients. Not too bad for a 7 yo and a 4 yo ;-)

Again, loaded with more cheese :)

I've made some changes to the original recipe by adding a bit more water as the dough was too dry. Also, original recipe does not require pre-baking the crust but I do not wish to race with time should something crop up so I sent them to the oven and baked for 8 - 10 mins and left them to cool till further use. We like this better as the pre-baking process helped to keep the crust crisp.

I sliced each pizza into 8 wedges and DD1 ate 4! I'm glad my whole family enjoyed their dinner tonight, even DD3 who's a fussy eater ate a slice ^-^